Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, opened peace talks in Oslo by denouncing oil
and mining companies that it says are looting the Andean
nation’s wealth, and said the country needs a new national army
without U.S. influence.

A FARC commander, known by his alias Ivan Marquez, named
billionaires Luis Carlos Sarmiento Angulo and Alejandro Santo
Domingo as examples of the country’s super rich he says are
“sinking their claws” into Colombia’s oil, gold and coltan
resources. Marquez, one of the group’s seven-member ruling
council, spoke at a news conference outside Oslo today.

“The locomotive of energy and mining is like a demon of
social and environmental destruction,” Marquez, whose real name
is Luciano Marin Arango, said. “Let’s put a stop to BHP
Billiton, Xstrata and Anglo American.”

Marquez also attacked Drummond Co. and AngloGold Ashanti
Ltd. and called Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. a “transnational
vampire.” The talks come after the FARC stepped up attacks on
oil workers, pipelines and energy towers this year to try to
derail what President Juan Manuel Santos says is one of the
country’s growth “locomotives.”

“One of the factors that most impacts negatively the
Colombian population is the signing of the free-trade
agreements,” including one with the U.S. which came into effect
in May, Marquez said. “This is a theme that definitely has to
be addressed.”

‘Bellicose’ Rhetoric

Sharing a platform with Colombian government
representatives, Marquez called for a transformation of
Colombia’s economic and financial structures.

“Though Marquez’s rhetoric was bellicose -- and it will
continue to be, no doubt -- the launch of the talks was carried
out with seriousness and discipline,” wrote Adam Isacson, a
Colombia specialist at the Washington Office on Latin America,
in reply to an e-mailed question. Isacson said he had been
concerned that FARC would announce “some new obstacle” to
talks, or that the event would take on a “circus atmosphere.”

“For the markets, investor confidence is not being
affected,” said Daniel Lozano, the head analyst at brokerage
Serfinco SA in Bogota.

Attacks

Attacks on oil pipelines more than quadrupled to 88 in the
first seven months of the year, from 20 in the same period in
2011, according to government statistics, even after the
government tracked down and killed the FARC’s top two
commanders.

The Marxist guerrilla movement is not negotiating from a
point of weakness, said Marquez, who is accused by the U.S.
government of setting the FARC’s policies on cocaine and
managing production and distribution of the drug.

The Colombian government’s lead negotiator Humberto De La
Calle said the talks are focused on five key points, including
rural development, an end to armed conflict and ensuring
political participation. De La Calle said that confidentiality
is key for the peace talks.

“The economic model is not a topic of discussion here, nor
is foreign investment,” De La Calle said. The negotiator said
he had not been surprised by the tone of Marquez’ remarks.

The negotiations will continue in Havana next month,
starting with agrarian development, Abel Garcia, a Cuban
representative at the talks, told the news conference.

FARC Negotiators

Tanja Nijmeijer, a Dutch citizen who joined the Marxist
guerrilla movement a decade ago, could take part in the talks in
Havana, Marquez said. He also wants FARC militant Simon
Trinidad, who is imprisoned in the U.S., to participate in the
negotiations.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s government, which the
U.S. has accused of harboring FARC leaders, is participating in
the process along with Chile, whose billionaire president,
Sebastian Pinera, is an ally of Santos.

Peace talks failed in 2002 after rebel strength surged
following President Andres Pastrana’s decision four years
earlier to cede guerrillas a Switzerland-sized demilitarized
zone that critics saw as the staging ground for drug trafficking
and military operations.

Colombia’s government will grant no such demilitarized zone
this time and at this stage of talks is ruling out the FARC’s
repeated requests to engage in a cease-fire, De La Calle said.

The economy could see Asia-like growth of 6 percent to 7
percent “for decades” if the government strikes a peace deal
with the Marxist rebels, Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said
last month.